Europe faces a clean air challenge. Air pollution represents a significant threat to human health and the environment. To respond, the EU has put in place targets to reduce air pollution by 2030.
European legislation has a very good instrument to detect high emitting vehicles in use - the periodic emission test of vehicles.
Some 40 million people in the 115 largest cities in the European Union are exposed to air exceeding WHO air quality guideline values for at least one pollutant, resulting in approximately 100,000 premature adult deaths each year.
The European Commission on Wednesday (18 December) unveiled a draft law to tackle air pollution, which every year is linked to 400,000 premature deaths in Europe and costs of tens of billions of euros.
Sustainable development depends on real commitments and actions, by real people in the real world – statement from 2002 Johannesburg Earth Summit Declaration. Several voluntary commitments where mentioned at Rio +20 as good practice of industry moving towards improved sustainability. VinylPlus was one of these initiatives. VinylPlus is also referenced in the Green Paper on Plastic Waste published by European Commission on the 7th of March 2013.
Europe's environment commissioner Janez Poto?nik has vowed to write and perform a song in front of at least 1000 people. But, we will only see the commissioner on stage if the audience agrees to stop using their cars for a week. Poto?nikc made his promise as part of Earth Hour Global Challenge, an initiative that aims at raising awareness about saving energy and care for the environment.
